Apartments denied parking request

Published: September 15, 2003 8:00 PM

The owners of apartments on Brenton Road will again be forced to seek another solution to parking woes there.

A request to allow two parking spaces to be constructed on city property to accommodate residents in the apartments was denied by the City Services Committee of Cambridge City Council Monday.

The owners of the apartments had previously approached the committee with a request to allow the construction of six additional parking spaces on nearby property, a portion of the project to be on city-owned property. Citing conflict with current zoning law and concerns regarding the straight-in proposed parking space configuration, the committee rejected the request.

The owners approached the committee Monday with a revised proposal that would eliminate departing motorists backing straight into traffic. However, two of the six spaces would still be located on city property. This cannot be avoided, it was reported to members, as the topography of the area prevents adding additional parking spaces elsewhere.

The remaining four spaces would be carved out of private property, for which the owner would reportedly pay the property owner monthly.

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Currently, 15 parking spaces exist for residents in a dozen units. However, the owner said, many occupants possess two automobiles, leading some to park in the yard of a nearby home. The addition of the six parking spaces would provide space for all residents, as three apartments are singles, the owners said.

In the end, the committee rejected the proposal reluctantly, said First Ward Councilman and acting chair Bill Nicholson of his vote as they did not want to set a precedent of allowing city property to be used for the such private business ventures.

The owner was encouraged to seek other alternate solutions, including possibly an agreement with a nearby business to allow parking in their parking lot after business hours.